


The Fate's Design

by the_overlord



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Derek's a closet nerd, Evil plots, Guardian Angel AU, Hale family all alive, M/M, and I can promise a happy ending, and Laura lives to embarrassing him, because the show is sad enough as it is, team ups, there are misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2015-07-08
Packaged: 2018-01-16 10:59:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1344997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_overlord/pseuds/the_overlord
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There was one rule however, that sat above the others. </p><p>'Do not, under any circumstances, change the Fates design.'</p><p>When Stiles had signed his contract to get his wings, when he’d cast his eye over the bold red letters printed at the top of the first sheet, bigger than all the other text on the page, he’d never imagined he’d have a problem with it. </p><p>Then again, he never imagined he’d meet Derek Hale."</p><p> </p><p>In other words Stiles is a Guardian Angel and gets in way too deep with the Hales and Angel politics.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Angels and Werewolves.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my Guardian Angel fic, I'm pretty excited. I warn you that I've planned the whole thing but I've not written much of it so far, though I have some time off so I'm hoping to magically develop some sort of work ethic. I hope you like what I've got so far. 
> 
> (Gah, one day I'll be completely happy with my writing - today is not that day)

When Stiles had joined the agency they’d briefed him on the rules.

They’d handed him a long list, eight pages long, double-sided, and told him to sign at the bottom. He hadn’t really needed to read them, having been familiar with them long before becoming a starter at the academy, but with the weight of the pen in his hand, the gravity of the situation pressing down on him, he’d still hesitated in putting pen to paper. The sympathetic look the administrator had given him assured him he was not alone in his hesitation.

The rules were important.

There was one rule however, that sat above the others. It wasn’t purely precautionary like the bi-annual health checks, or standard like the _no revealing one’s existence to a human unless there are extenuating circumstances_ rule. No this rule was different.

This rule was serious.

This rule got you in serious trouble if you broke it.

**_Do not, under any circumstances, change the Fates design._ **

In other words, if the fates decree it with their all-knowing power, then it must be done, no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you disagree, it doesn’t matter if you feel you know better, it doesn’t matter if, since the recent timely ascendance of a few of the elder Fates, the council has become riddled with… questionable characters. It doesn’t matter. You do.

When Stiles had signed his contract to get his wings, when he’d cast his eye over the bold red letters printed at the top of the first sheet, bigger than all the other text on the page, he’d never imagined he’d have a problem with it.

Then again, he never imagined he’d meet Derek Hale.

Stiles’ first assignment had come in the day after he’d got his wings, the glossy white envelope sliding in through the mail slot while he was scarfing down toast. He’d risen to get it, tripping over his own feet in his haste to reach the door and snagging his wing on an open cupboard. From his place on the couch his dad laughed, retrieving the letter himself before handing it off to Stiles who was busily brushing his feathers back into place and grumbling about spacial awareness.

‘So, who’d you get?’

Stiles glanced down at the paper, scanning the document for a name.

‘Uh… Laura Hale?’

His dad hummed lightly, gesturing for Stiles to read on, learn more about his new charge. He startled, almost spilling his coffee as Stiles let out an exclamation.

‘Wow, _dad_. Check this out, it says here Laura Hale is a _werewolf._ I’m GAing a freaking _werewolf_.’

Pulling the paper from Stiles’ hand to check it over his dad smiled.

‘Well, I’m impressed, son. It’s extremely lucky to be given a supernatural on your first time. A definite honour. Perhaps the Council looked into your Academy reports and decided to reward you for your good work.’

‘Or maybe being related to the world greatest senior GA made the Council consider the probability of it being in the genes? You know, because greatness is totally hereditary.’

His dad ruffled his hair, smiling fondly.

‘You’re going to be amazing, and this _Laura Hale_ is one lucky werewolf. The Council could not have picked anyone finer to be receiving this honour. And I am so very proud of you Stiles, more than you could possibly know.’

Words failing him for what was probably the first time in his life, Stiles just opened his arms and pulled his dad into a hug, wings curving tightly round their bodies, matched in kind by his father’s until they were trapped in a warm cocoon of feathers.

‘Now, you’d better hurry up before you’re late for your first day. Supernatural assignments come with the added hardship of the meet and greet so you better get dressed and down to the Academy building before the Senior Angel in charge decides to take you off the assignment and give it to someone else.’

Stiles jolted back, eyes wide.

‘They can’t do that can they?’

His dad shrugged casually.

‘They’ve done it before so I’d get a move on if I were you.’

He omitted the fact that on previous occasions the assignments had been taken away from GAs for being hours, even _days_ late, not mere minutes, but it was worth it to see Stiles bounding up the stairs in a panic, picture frames flying as they were swept off the wall by his wings.

He smiled to himself as he snagged Stiles’ forgotten toast, and sat down to read the rest of the mail.

In the end Stiles reached the Academy with minutes to spare, a little out of breath and panting, but otherwise bubbling with excitement. Some of the other graduates were there, and a couple of older Angels who had obviously just been put back into rotation with the newbies. They’d gathered in the far corner of the meeting ground, loath to mix with the fresh new faces, content to mind their own business.

The graduates however were far less considerate, nervous chatter gaining volume with every new body pressed into the throng. Stiles could barely hear himself talk over the clamour, but somehow, through sheer force of will and a scary sense of co-dependence, he managed to locate Scott, Lydia and Isaac where they’d gathered along the edge of the crowd.

Lydia grabbing his wingtip and dragging him over to them definitely helped as well.

It was quieter on the edge, the sound only crashing into him from one direction rather than surrounding him like before. He readily accepted the hug Scott flung at him, waving at the other two over Scott’s shoulder.

‘So Stiles, we were just about to discuss our assignments.’

Lydia gestured to the envelope in her hand.

‘Oh cool, who got what then?’

Isaac cleared his throat, brandishing his own envelope to get their attention.

‘Yeah, I got some girl called Erica Reyes, she’s got epilepsy and gets bullied pretty bad. I’m pretty excited to help her fix that actually, seems like a pretty sweet deal.’

The others nodded before turning to Scott.

‘Mine’s a girl called Malia, she’s been missing for a few years, she’s got amnesia or something. I get to help her reunite with her family.’

Stiles smiled at Scott’s reaction, the look of absolute joy on his face at getting to reunite a child with her family, there was no way the assignment could have gone to anyone else. He slung an arm around Scott’s shoulders and pulled him close, a wide grin of his own spreading across his features. Not caring about interrupting the display of bro-love unfolding in front of her, Lydia cut across them with a quietly smug voice.

‘Well I got a guy called Jackson Whittemore in England, adopted, wealthy family, struggling with insecurities buried beneath a mountain of arrogance issues. Actually, my assignment reads like a psych evaluation. Abandonment issues, selfish tendencies, entitlement and he sleep walks apparently, does things in his sleep that he doesn’t remember in the morning. It’s going to be a tough one I bet, it’s definitely going to get some notice upstairs.’

Lydia smirked proudly at the three of them as passed her sheet around. Stiles had to admit the assignment did look pretty interesting, and the Jackson guy looked like he was going to be a complete handful. Again he had to hand it to the Council for choosing the perfect person for the job. Lydia was going to take none of this guy’s bullshit, even if he was human and she wasn’t going to be able to reveal herself. Part of him pitied the guy, being moulded into a decent person by Lydia was no cake walk – he should know, he’d suffered through it himself.

‘So what about you Stiles? You get anything good?’

At Scott’s words Lydia turned away from where she was pointing out all of Jackson’s issues to Isaac, and glanced over at him, one perfect eyebrow raised in mild curiosity.

‘Uh, yeah. I’ve got Laura Hale.’

When he didn’t elaborate, Lydia turned towards him fully, hands on hips and wings puffed out. ‘And? What’s Laura Hale’s deal? We told you ours, you can’t hold out on us Stilinski. This is probably the _only_ time I’m going to be actually interested in your life, don’t you _dare_ leave me hanging.’

And, well, he wasn’t going to refuse her that. She still kind of scared him.

‘She’s a werewolf?’

He hadn’t meant to phrase it as a question, but it came out sort of breathy as he took in his friend’s faces. For a second Lydia’s composure fell, her jaw slackening in surprise, before she gathered herself once more and daintily plucked the envelope from Stiles’ hand and checking it for herself.

Scott clapped him on the back as Isaac congratulated him, warning him somewhat solemnly not to be too annoying lest he end up someone’s dinner. Stiles scowled back, accepting the letter from Lydia once she’d checked it, her face indifferent but her eyes on fire.

Stiles was still trying to think of something to say, something to placate Lydia, reassure her that her assignment was still the best, when the bullhorn sounded, a hush falling over the meeting ground almost instantly. Everyone turned towards the makeshift stage as a voice sounded out from on top.

‘Right, if everyone would like to gather around and when I call your name pair off with your assigning officer. Good luck everyone, and welcome to rotation.’

 

Stiles’ assigning officer was a thick shouldered man, with poorly groomed feathers, and hair sticking up in all directions as if he’d rolled out of bed and drifted his way to the academy on auto pilot. From the patch of what looked suspiciously like drool on his shirt Stiles thought that maybe that was exactly what had happened. He introduced himself as Finstock, warned him to stay in line at all times because he was not going to relive the nightmare of something called ‘Greenburg’, then promptly disappeared to secure them one of the earth shuttles. Stiles hadn’t even had time to open his mouth and introduce himself.

The shuttle ride was short and bumpy, Finstock having taken the wheel as soon as they’d boarded. Stiles was fairly certain he had not passed his test but he wasn’t about to say anything. By the time they landed a short distance from the Hale house Stiles was vaguely nauseous and completely ruffled. Finstock lay a meaty hand on Stiles’ shoulder.

‘Now listen here kid, this kind of thing is a massive privilege for someone your age, and I don’t want you messing it up. So look sharp, stay quiet, and try not to anger the supernaturally powered werewolves any more than you _absolutely_ have to. Got it.’

He didn’t wait for an answer before he was dragging them off through the greenery. Stiles crossed his fingers and hoped for saner people on the other side.

The Hale house itself was incredible. It was several stories high, painted in deep, earthy colours with elegant lacquer etched across the outside. Wide stretches of window illuminated the building, making it almost shine in the streaks of sunlight creeping through the forested canopy, and all around it were sweet smelling flowers laid out in neat little flower beds and climbing up the side of the house. He’d never seen a home look so… _natural_.

For a minute or so Stiles just stared, open mouthed and gaping.

It wasn’t until he heard Finstock banging on the front door, a little too loudly, that he snapped back to reality and hurried up the wide wooden porch steps. He was only half way up when the door was flung open.

A gaggle of people stood in the doorway, all fairly young and curiously staring at Finstock. Stiles paused where he was, unsure of what to do, and fairly sure it was safer to stay somewhat hidden behind the larger man because, you know, _werewolves_.

He was still debating what to do, one foot hovering stupidly in the air when the crowd broke, some sort of commotion behind them forcing them to part, and out strode a woman, all sharp lines and elegant grace, and eyes that bore into you like they could read your soul. She glanced briefly at Finstock, noting his ruffled feathers and stained shirt with pursed lips, before turning back towards the door, ushering the gathered mass back inside, and indicating Finstock should follow.

Stiles was pretty sure no one had even noticed he was there yet. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

Warily, he trailed after Finstock as the man tramped his way inside, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the pictures on the walls with eager eyes.

They were led into a warm living room, stacks of pillows and beanbags leaking fluff lined the walls and there were several luxurious sofas crammed full of people filling any empty space. The woman from before seemed to opt to stand as she conversed quietly with a younger girl, gesturing every now and then towards the doorway where Stiles and Finstock were lurking. Eventually the woman cleared her throat. The room fell silent.

‘So as you all know we have a special guest with us today, one I expect you to all treat with respect and impeccable manners,’ she glanced off to where a man about her age was sitting. He just smirked back at her. She glared lightly before turning to Finstock.

‘We, as a family would like to officially accept the aid of the Guardian Angel programme for my daughter Laura. And we are very honoured to have one of our own chosen. You are probably aware our family has not been offered this protection in years, we are very excited to say the least.’

Her words were calm, soothing as she spoke them, but her eyes were alight with energy sparking beneath the surface.

Finstock stepped forward, hand outstretched.

‘The pleasure is all ours Alpha Hale. Your daughter must be worthy of great things if the fates have chosen her as one of their wards. And as such they have given her one of their finest graduates as her Guardian.’

She took his hand, shaking it with confidence, before dropping it back to his side with a raised brow.

‘Please, call me Talia. I must say, you speak of yourself very highly. I trust that my daughter will be safe with you?’

Finstock faltered slightly, face scrunching up in confusion before he let out a bark of laughter, twisting round to look at Stiles.

‘Oh, fates no. I’m not your daughter’s Guardian, I’m just delivering him,’ he gestured at Stiles with his thumb, ‘here so the little tyke didn’t get lost on the way. _He’s_ Laura’s Angel.’

Stiles felt his face heat up as all eyes turned towards him, judging gazes lingering just a little too long for his liking. From Talia’s side another voice spoke up.

‘Him?’

Peering round Finstock, Stiles watched as the girl, who he could only assume was Laura, obviously, and with no subtlety whatsoever, critically assessed him.

‘Well he’s cute and all, and far more put together than this guy,’ Finstock huffed as she pointed at the drool stain on his shirt. ‘But he doesn’t even look legal. He looks about 16.’

‘Actually,’ He drew the syllables out as far as he could, ‘I’m 18.’

‘Well _I’m_ 20\. Isn’t that at least a little bit weird? That I’m older that my own Guardian Angel? Aren’t you supposed to be old and wise and come with aged wisdom you rattle off in frustrating riddles that make me want to murder you?’

Stiles stepped forward, fixing a smirk into place.

‘No, that’s not really how it works. I do find it a little weird however, that you think my age has anything to do with my ability to protect you. I am damn good at my job, and I _will_ keep you safe, and I can do that as your friend, or as your enemy, or your distant whatever-the-hell-you-want-me-to-be, that part doesn’t really bother me. What does bother me is you judging me on my age before you even know me, so how about we start again, and I’ll introduce myself properly.’

He dropped the smirk into a genuine smile, glancing off to the side briefly to see Talia watching him consideringly.

‘Hello, I’m Stiles and I will be your Guardian Angel for the foreseeable future. It’s very nice to meet you.’

Laura hesitated slightly, perhaps still somewhat taken aback, before smiling beatifically, flipping her hair over her shoulder and gripping his hand in a way not unlike her mother’s firm hold.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you too Stiles. Would you care to stay for lunch?’

 

Lunch, as it turned out, was a harried affair, complete with mountains of food, wolves with little to no concept of personal space, and several screaming children, one of which was a four year old werewolf _just_ growing into her milk fangs and latching on to anything and everything she could get her little mouth on. Including Stiles’ leg.

He was only somewhat comforted by Talia’s assurance that the majority of the wolves in the room didn’t actually live with them and would be heading back home the following evening. In his defence, there was still a bloody tooth imprint from a four year old carved into his leg and those kind of things tended to make people a little bit cranky.

By the end of lunch Stiles was about ready to collapse, and he’d lost Finstock somewhere in the direction of the living room. He thought he’d heard someone mention breaking open some celebratory whisky and cigars, despite the fact it was only three in the afternoon, but he couldn’t be sure over the clamour of the dining room. He figured he should at least make himself useful, clearing what he could carry from the table and navigating loose objects and children until he found the kitchen.

It was somewhat calmer in the kitchen, less ‘wayward anarchy’, more ‘organised chaos’ as the clearing up commenced. No one seemed to notice him enter, or more likely they didn’t really care, so he slipped the plates onto the pile being loaded into the dish washer, and perched on a chair next to one of Laura’s cousins – Veronica, if he was remembering rightly – and a guy he didn’t recognise. As they chattered away between themselves Stiles took the opportunity to scan the room. Over in the far corner he could see Laura tickling her sister, the two of them engaging in some kind of fight while they both laughed and snarled, entangled together. Laura had the age advantage, having 4 years on her sister, but Cora was sneaky and Stiles watched, impressed, as she weaved about with unnatural speed, blocking Laura’s movements before jabbing her own fingers into her sister’s side, smiling gleefully as it drew out another bout of laughter.

He idly wondered what it would have been like to have siblings of his own. The Hales seemed so close, like one unit, functioning together, working together, fighting _together_. Up in heaven it was just him. Well, him and his dad, which was enough really. He couldn’t ask for more. But sometimes he wondered…

‘Trust me, it’s not that great.’

Stiles jumped as a voice sounded by his ear, rich and warm and a little too close. Turning he realised it was the guy he hadn’t recognised before, the one who’d been talking to Veronica though she seemed to have decided to go elsewhere seeing as there was now a rowdy 6 year old stirring cookie mixture in her seat.

‘What’s not that great?’

Smirking, the guy jabbed a thumb at Laura and Cora, still entangled in their tickle fight despite their mother’s assurances that if they broke anything they were weeding the entire garden.

‘Having siblings. You had that look on your face, the ‘I wish I had siblings’ face. But trust me, if you got them you’d want to return them within a day.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow at the guy, looking closer he could definitely see the resemblance to Talia and Laura. Cora less so, but there was still something, maybe the cheekbones. He bit his lip and spun in his seat a little so he was properly facing the unknown Hale.

‘A day huh?’

‘I’d say a week max. And that’s if you have a will of steel.’

Stiles swallowed.

‘Oh trust me, my will power is _rock hard_. It can last for days.’

Aaand, yep, that was all the blood in his body rushing to his cheeks because that definitely came out way more sexually than intended even if it didn’t totally make sense. But in his defence this werewolf sibling of Laura’s was pretty stunning, and Stiles had a bad track record around stunning people. Maybe this one wouldn’t slap him in the face with a wing like Lydia did the time he winked at her when she invited him to a study session. Explaining the black eye to his dad had been embarrassing.

As had the sex talk that had followed.

‘Well, maybe one day you’ll let me put that will power to the test.’

Wait, _what_? Hold on, back up, _what?_ Did his awful attempt at flirting actually _work?_ He was strangely enough leaning towards a strong yes seeing as the guy, the incredibly attractive, way out of anyone Stiles had ever met’s league, was leaning closer, his voice was getting lower, his fingers were kind of brushing against his leg almost like an accident, but definitely _not_ , and-

‘Ugh, _Derek_! Stop flirting with my Angel. It’s gross and you do it badly.’

And the fingers were gone. Stiles let out a steady breath, his chest loosening slightly.

‘I’m so sorry Stiles, he’s a moron, just ignore him. Derek, go sew a scarf or something upstairs.’

Laura waved a hand dismissingly in Derek’s confused face before leaning in conspiratorially with Stiles and mock whispering,

‘He thinks he’s all hard and manly and suave, but I’ve seen the stitching patterns under his bed. He _subscribes_ to the _magazines_ Stiles. What. A. Dork. I’ve seen them, he keeps them next to his porn.’

‘ _LAURA!_ ’

She cackled, pointing a delighted finger at the embarrassed flush working its way up his cheeks, before beating a hasty retreat out the back door, still laughing.

For a second it looked like Derek might chase her, knuckles white where he was gripping the counter, tiny pricks of claws poking out but not fully extended, but after a tense second he relaxed, his whole body going limp as his head fell into the cushion of his arms. Reaching out tentatively, Stiles lay what he hoped was a comforting hand on Derek’s back, breathing out when all the werewolf did was sigh. Biting his lip against a smile, he let his fingers poke into Derek’s back lightly. The kitchen was strangely quiet, everyone having left at some point leaving just him and Derek sitting at the breakfast bar. For a minute he let the silence sit.

‘I can’t believe you keep your porn under your bed, who knew you were such a cliché dude.’

He couldn’t hold back the grin when Derek raised his head to peer incredulously at Stiles, a small smile of his own lingering around the corners of his mouth, before he groaned and dropped his head back into his arms.

‘See, I told you. Having siblings _sucks_.’


	2. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long.

From there things only got better.

By the time a year had passed he was a firm member of the Hale clan, a welcomed friend and a trusted ally. He’d faced down rogue hunters with them, warned them of a travelling pack of sirens praying on the town and saved cousin Tara’s wedding from a flower emergency. He’d saved Laura from an animal trap in the woods, getting hit by a delivery truck and from getting a nasty case of food poisoning from some tainted meat. Admittedly, the werewolf super-healing would have kicked in and sorted out the food poisoning pretty quickly, but he figured saving her even an hour of squirting would be greatly appreciated.

(Needless to say, she’d heartily agreed when he’d warned her to stick to pizza that day.)

Mostly, Stiles spent his days lingering around the Hale house, gossiping with Laura, studying and playing with Cora, helping around the house and hanging out with Derek.

He was loathe to admit that the latter was quickly becoming his go to. There was just something so contradictory about Derek and it drew him in. At first glance he was gruff and bitter, a scowl his default expression, but it didn’t take long to recognise the façade for what it was. And upon scratching the surface he’d found a sweet natured, long suffering, _fiercely loyal_ , nerd and it was a little addicting.

And then it became a _lot_ addicting.

And then it became an obsession.

He couldn’t help it, the gruff, werewolf nerd was _hot_. Even Lydia had agreed when she’d dropped in to visit, and Lydia was pretty much of the opinion that anything other than her reflection was pond life. So ‘yeah, he’s not bad’ was basically the highest praise one could receive from the mouth of Lydia Martin.

Of course when she’d mentioned telling Derek how he felt he’d blanched ridiculously and spent the next four minutes alternating between furiously shaking his head ‘ _no_ ’ and trembling a little in his seat murmuring about crazy ladies. She’d smacked him with her wings in admonishment.

‘Come on, I’ve seen you two together and you’re hardly subtle. For god’s sake Stiles, you two flirt so outrageously that I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Hale wedding we attended was welcoming us to the union of the Stilinski-Hales.’

Stiles neglected to inform her he’d already picked out their colour scheme. In his defence it hadn’t been a conscious choice, but they’d been arguing about their favourite colours and Stiles had insisted red was _way_ better than black, and Derek had shot back that black could _totally_ take red in a fight (because their fights were ridiculous) and it hadn’t been till he was dozing off that evening that his mind helpfully decided that black and red were kind of complimentary. He’d dreamed of a red and black wedding that night, tinged with white to lighten the palate, and he’d woken the next morning feeling like an 8 year old school girl.

He’d buried his face in his wings and ended up getting to the Hale house half an hour later than usual and sweating through his shirt because he’d had to speed fly down after missing his shuttle. He’d arrived just in time to stop Laura from stepping bare foot on a garden fork, but he’d had to bodily tackle her down to avoid it instead of pre warning her like usual. She hadn’t been happy but in his defence Laura was pretty much a walking disaster. How she’d survived without him was a real mystery.

But yeah, in conclusion, he maybe had a little bit of a thing for Derek but it wasn’t like it was a problem. Everyone got attached to their wards, Isaac was busy making Erica as badass and confident as possible and anyone who spoke to him about her these days could see how proud he was, Scott was as invested in Malia as he was in any of his real angel friends and even Lydia admitted she was kind of fond of Jackson. Apparently she was well on her way to making him a decent human being, she was only disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to reap the rewards like some lucky girl was going to.

Everyone got attached. It was natural. And it wasn’t like he was bothering Derek either despite what Laura said when she swung into rooms without warning. Derek sought him out just as often as Stiles did him, always up for playing video games or watching films or making use of the acres of land the Hales had at their disposal. And he told Stiles things, like how he was thinking about learning the guitar or how he was worried that Cora was getting too close to that ‘punk kid’ Lucas Bradbury in her grade. Apparently he was ‘bad news’ and Stiles had laughed uproariously and told Derek to stop sounding like a concerned 60s father. He left out that it was completely endearing.

The only thing was Stiles wasn’t really sure if Derek felt the same about him. Like he’d said, Derek was obviously not _opposed_ to his company but Stiles was pretty sure that was on a friends only basis. But then again they flirted constantly and it confused the hell out of Stiles, because Derek would stare into his eyes when they were lying next to each other on the grass, or slip in flirty compliments when they were talking, or even idly _stroke his wings_ while the watched movies and it was so utterly maddening and intoxicating that Stiles was sure he was slowly going mad.

Eventually it got to the point where he couldn’t wait any longer, he just couldn’t put up with the sexual frustration for another day, especially as his dad had started to notice he was acting strangely and was asking all sorts of uncomfortably probing questions. So he made the decision to put it out there, casual as possible like ‘hey Derek, you look good today, do you maybe want to spend the rest of our lives together or something. No big.’

Or yeah, maybe something less intense.

Either way he woke up that morning with a purpose.

His dad was already at the table when he got down for breakfast and he smiled at Stiles, finishing off his toast and orange juice.

‘I’m off early this morning so you’ll have to get your own food ready, but I’ll be back for dinner around 7 ok?’

Stiles nodded, already buried in the cupboard, fishing around for the unhealthiest cereal they had. Sugar-y courage, that’s what he needed. He heard his dad putting away his dishes before retreating into the hall. He seemed to pause by the door before returning briefly to the kitchen to drop a pile of mail onto the table and hug Stiles goodbye. Then he was gone.

Collapsing in his dad’s vacant seat with a mouth full of artificial flavours and milk, Stiles began to sort through the stack of letters. Most were for his dad, bills and envelopes marked IMPORTANT making their way into his pile. There were a couple for Stiles though, mainly subscriptions to magazines and newsletters and an alumni update from the GA Academy, but there was one that caught his eye. A thin, brown envelope with the GA logo marked CONFIDENTIAL in bold red letters. He ripped into it, a little bit of milk dribbling out the corner of his mouth.

 

**Dear Mr Stilinski,**

**We regret to inform you that we have made the decision to terminate your contract with Miss Laura Hale effective immediately. We would like to stress that this decision is not a reflection of your work but rather comes about because Miss Hale no longer qualifies for the Guardian Angel Programme. We ask that you cease all contact with Miss Hale and her family as soon as possible. Speaking to Miss Hale or anyone related to Miss Hale will be seen as an infringement of your contract and result in immediate consequences. However, as a reward for your impeccable service you will be receiving a 3 week paid sabbatical following which you will be prioritised for any available high profile cases we have.**

**We appreciate your understanding,**

**Kind wishes,**

**Adrian Harris,**

**The Offices of the Fates**

Stiles stared at the letter for a full minute before he could move again. It didn’t really feel real what he was reading. How could someone become ineligible for the programme? He’d never heard of that happening before. And why hadn’t they given him any warning? And why the hell was he not allowed to speak to them again? He wasn’t even allowed to say goodbye?

Well no, fuck that, that was bullshit. No way was he just going to disappear on them. He’d been with the Hales every day for a year, they were like his family now, they couldn’t just order him to stay away from them for no good reason.

He pushed away from the table, slipping on his shoes and shoving the letter into his pocket not caring that it ripped a little on a button. He left his breakfast abandoned on the table and stormed out of his house.

* * *

The enquiry desk was empty when Stiles got to it so he pressed down on the little bell until a woman appeared from the back room, scowling at being so rudely summoned. She was a short, portly woman with light hair and white wings and she seemed to puff herself up as she crossed to where Stiles was waiting as if she were expecting trouble.

Well, he wasn’t going to disappoint her.

‘What the fuck is this?’

He thrust the crumpled letter onto the desk and slid it towards her. She tutted disapprovingly but pulled the letter the rest of the way anyway, slipping on reading glasses to see it better.

‘First of all young man, watch you language. Secondly, this appears to be a letter detailing your removal from an assignment, it’s written quite clearly.’

‘Yes, I got that. What I want to know is why. Why has Laura been deemed ineligible for the Guardian Angel programme?’

The woman sighed like she had far better things to be doing with her life, but woke up her computer and pulled up the database nonetheless. He watched impatiently as she tapped in the information, one key at a time as if she was trying to annoy him, but as slow as she was she eventually got the job done. Good thing too, Stiles was only about 10 seconds off an aneurism.

‘Ok, let’s see. Laura Hale: _20,_ Species: _werewolf_ , Guardian Angel: _Stiles Stilinski_ , Contract: _terminated_ , aha here we go, Reason for contract termination: _Client termination_.’

He furrowed his brow.

‘What does that mean? Client termination?’

‘It means you’ve been removed from the assignment because very soon there won’t be a client to protect.’

She slashed a finger across her throat dramatically and Stiles’ blood ran cold.

‘What? She’s going to _die_? What the hell, I thought it was my job to keep her safe, why the hell have I been removed if they know she’s in danger.’

The woman tapped a few more keys. She didn’t seem really angry anymore, in fact as she typed away she seemed almost intrigued, like she was just as curious as Stiles was. When she found what she was looking for she let out a low whistle.

‘It says here the order to remove you came down from the Fates themselves. Apparently Laura Hale has become a fixed mark in time, or rather her death has. Nothing you can do I’m afraid, she’s fated to kick the bucket this evening. Ooh, and in a house fire too, that’s a nasty way to go.’

It didn’t make sense, none of it made _sense_. He’d spent a year of his life protecting Laura and now here he was being told oh-so-casually that she was going to burn to death in a house fire and there was nothing he could do. That he had to just stand back and _let_ her.

‘This evening?’

The woman had lost interest again and was flicking through a magazine on the desk in front of her. She nodded distractedly.

’11:30pm.’

Stiles swallowed.

He realised with sudden, sickening jolt, that it wasn’t just Laura that was in danger, chances were the entire Hale family were going to be in the house when it caught fire. Her parents, Peter, Cora and oh god _Derek_ , they were all going to be trapped in there too. He could hear them screaming in his head as the house crumbled, trapped under burning beams. It would take longer for them to die too, what with their advanced healing. They’d be stuck in agony for _minutes_ . He could feel the bile rising in his throat.

‘Was there anything else you wanted or can I go back to my book?’

Stiles didn’t answer, didn’t think he could if he wanted to, he just turned and left.

* * *

He thought about going home, he thought about following the rules, returning to his house, throwing up 8 or 9 times before drinking himself stupid and crawling into bed. But even as he thought about it he’d already decided he couldn’t do it. He’d never forgive himself if he just left them to burn.

Miraculously, there were still a few shuttles sitting around when he made it to the exit zone and he forwent the sign out sheet just in case he’d already been removed. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t already going to be in trouble, no one was going to really care he hadn’t followed shuttle protocol after what he was about to do.

The house was quiet when he got there, but that was unsurprising. Cora and Laura never got up before 12 on weekends and Derek was most likely reading quietly in his room. He used his key to get in, absently memorising every detail of the house as he went. Now that he was here he could feel the premonition starting to form, the warning bells chiming in his head. He could almost see the flames licking the walls, translucent and faint, but their warmth was almost tangible. The tears welled up before he could stop them and he swiped them away angrily, the last thing he wanted was for the Hales to know something was wrong, he’d already decided to treat this like any other day, and for them it would be. If he got his way they’d never know what was really meant to happen or what he’d done.

Mr and Mrs Hale were in the kitchen and he knocked politely at the door before entering. Talia smiled up at him across her newspaper.

‘Good morning Stiles, you’re a little early aren’t you?’

He glanced at the clock above the cooker. 9:30, he was half an hour early. He hadn’t even realised.

‘Yeah, sorry. I hope you don’t mind.’

Talia shook her head.

‘Of course not Stiles, you know you’re always welcome here.’ She paused, ‘Are you ok?’

He didn’t ask how she knew something was wrong, he probably reeked of anxiety and pain, but he plastered on a smile none the less.

‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve got some bad news though but I should probably tell everyone.’ He gestured upstairs to where the bedrooms were.

Amazingly they didn’t ask any more questions, just nodded and rose to their feet. Mr Hale disappeared upstairs before reappearing 3 minutes later trailed by his three children still dressed in their pyjamas. Despite everything Stiles still has to fight a blush when a very shirtless Derek slumped into the seat next to him and threw an arm around his shoulders and letting one of Stiles’ wings wrap around him in return. He distracted himself by turning to Talia.

‘Where’s Peter?’

‘He’s gone out for the morning. Do you need to wait for him to get back before you tell us what’s going on?’

Stiles considered it, but eventually shook his head. As long as he got back before 11:30 that night there wasn’t really a problem.

‘No, it’s fine. You can just tell him when he gets back.’ He took a deep breath.

‘So basically, there’s no easy way to say this but your house is going to catch fire tonight, I don’t know why or how so I can’t tell you how to stop it, I just know it’s going to happen. It happens at 11:30 tonight when you’d probably be sleeping so my advice is you book yourself somewhere to stay tonight and stay out of the way.’

There was a stretched silence while everyone processed. Eventually though Laura piped up.

‘Can we pack up our things?’ She was fiddling with the shirt of her pyjamas, eyes wide and frightened.

‘I suppose, you have enough time before you have to be out, but I wouldn’t take everything. From a purely financial standpoint it might look suspicious if your house is empty when it burns down and the insurance probably won’t want to pay, but ultimately it’s up to you, it won’t make any difference to the overall outcome.’

Behind Cora’s head Stiles suddenly saw the grand piano go up in phantom flames and he found it suddenly hard to breathe. The Hales were muttering between themselves, Laura already listing off the things she was _definitely_ taking with her and he tried to focus on that instead to stave off the panic attack.

‘Stiles is right about the insurance so we’ll leave all the furniture and anything you aren’t especially attached to here. They’re not going to question us too hard about personal items I shouldn’t think and anything they do find suspicious we can just say were at a relative’s house. That covers photo albums and things like that. As for important documents we can say we kept copies in our Safety Deposit Boxes just in case. I think this could work.’

And just like that everything was getting sorted. Mr Hale was nodding along with his wife, Cora was suddenly very excited by the idea of her school work going up in flames and Laura was debating with her mother just what ‘especially attached’ meant. Derek on the other hand was silent. His arm was heavy round Stiles’ shoulders as he stared at the family portrait above the fire place. Stiles took the moment to study his profile, marvelling in how stunning he really was. He jolted as the arm around his shoulder tightened and before he could stop it, or rather fully _appreciate_ it, Derek was leaning in to whisper in his ear.

‘You just saved my entire family, you really are amazing Stiles.’

He lingered for a moment, hot breath puffing against Stiles’ neck before he pulled away smiling softly and Stiles felt his heart swell uncomfortably in his chest. He cleared his throat and pasted on the most blinding smile he could managed knowing it wouldn’t reach his eyes.

‘Nah, not really, just doing my job.’

* * *

Peter returned around midday to the house in packing mode. He was quickly filled in on what was happening and once the surprise wore off he followed suit, grabbing several boxes before disappearing into his room.

Stiles had been assigned the living room, but after he’d stacked up all the family photos and fished the portraits off the wall he’d collapsed down onto the sofa to stare at the phantom fire crackling across the bookshelves. He wasn’t entirely sure how long he sat there for, but after some time the sofa dipped and Laura appeared beside him. Surprisingly, however, she didn’t speak straight away, and when she did it was in a quiet, almost reverent voice.

‘You can see it can’t you? The fire?’

‘Yeah, I can.’ It came out more choked than he would have liked.

‘I’m so lucky to have you Stiles. I know I joke a lot about you hanging around and fussing over me like my mother, but you know I don’t mean it right? Like, without you, I’d probably have died a thousand times by now, and without you,’ she paused, ‘we’d all be dead come morning. You did more than just save _me_ this time Stiles, you saved everything I love as well and I can’t ever thank you enough for that.’

She didn’t wait for him to respond before she left, and he wasn’t even sure he even had the words to if he wanted to.

* * *

He ended up leaving the Hales at 5pm, the light just beginning to fade behind the tree line. They were all packed up and they’d booked into a hotel the city over to make it look more like they’d gone out of town for the weekend. He waved them off before beginning his own journey home.

He ate dinner with his dad and talked about meaningless things, but it was nice and he stored it away in his memory for later, right next to the memory of Derek’s breath on his neck. He was aware he’d probably need some good memories to hang onto.

He made sure to tell his dad he loved him three times that night. By the third he knew his dad had sensed something was wrong but neither of them brought it up.

It came as no surprised when, just after midnight, there was a knock at the door. Both Stiles and his father rose to answer it, but Stiles made it there first. There were three policemen outside, grim faced and tough, and though Stiles hadn’t even thought about running for it he knew even if he tried there was no chance he’d get away.

‘Stiles Stilinski?’

‘Yes.’ He sounded weary, even to his own ears, but he was resigned to this, he knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time.

‘You’re under arrest for disobeying a direct order and breaching the contract you signed when you because a Guardian Angel. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You will be provided with representation upon trial however, once a sentence is passed you will no longer be able to contest it. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?’

Stiles glanced at his father standing further into the room, his face a mixture of shock and disbelief. He didn’t want to be there when the disbelief faded into disappointment. He turned back to the officers and allowed them to cuff his hands behind his back.

‘Yes, I understand.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the Miranda rights read at the end aren't quite right, I altered them slightly mainly because I wanted the Angel society to reflect the human world but not be exactly the same. It's stupid I know, but hey, hope you like the rest of it...


	3. Losing Faith

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you know when you have an exact idea of how you want a chapter to go but when you write it it comes out like shit. That's what happened to this chapter so I apologise in advance for the stilted writing and I hope it doesn't seem as forced as it seems to me.  
> I hope you enjoy it despite my damning review.

Derek was dying.

Ok, well maybe that was a little dramatic but he was sure 4 days sharing a hotel room with his two sisters warranted all the dramatics in the world. Looking back the first night hadn’t been too bad, his parents had shelled out for a pretty fancy hotel and though they were technically adults, Laura and Derek had been just as excited as Cora to explore the room, the pool and spa, the games room and especially the 3 restaurants on site. But after the novelty had worn off they’d been at each other’s throats constantly.

His mum and dad had been too preoccupied with the insurance and the police to take them anywhere, and the surrounding area wasn’t particularly interesting. The only respite Derek got was going for runs through the park across from the hotel. It was the perfect place as it backed onto a protected wood with enough coverage for Derek to wolf out as he ran.

He’d asked Cora and Laura if they’d wanted to join him the first morning but they’d spent the entire run trying to whip him with sticks and push wild flowers into his hair. He hadn’t asked them again. Each day he took a different path, climbing hills or sprinting across fields covered in violets, enjoying the sense of discovery and steering clear of anyone else on the trails.

On the fourth day he found a lake.

It was beautiful, tiny rivulets feeding into it from the north side filling the silence with the soothing sound of falling water. Ducks littered the area, some diving for food, some lazily floating on the surface and some snuggled up in the long grass along the banks. Bugs hummed in the air all around but kept their distance from Derek as he wandered further into the clearing panting from the run even as he slipped back into human form.

He collapsed on the edge of the lake, tearing his shoes and socks off before plunging his bare feet into the water. A nearby duck quacked loudly, flapping noisily at the interruption, but it quietened down when Derek growled good naturedly at it. It paddled off to its friends but kept one beady eye on Derek.

He sighed as he leant back on his elbows, letting the cool breeze wash over him and the water weeds tangle between his toes. He knew without a doubt that tomorrow was going to lead him straight back there. That he’d bring his book and some food and stay there for hours just soaking in the sun and the sounds. The bliss of it all.

There was a sudden minor uproar as a bird in the trees above took flight frightening the flock perched on other branches until the air was filled with the sound of tiny flapping wings. Instantly Derek felt his heart hollow out, the ache that had been coming and going in the last few days finding purchase once more.

Since meeting the angel all that time ago, Derek had gotten used to having him around, a constant, welcome presence in his life. His goofy smile and clumsy limbs and acidic sarcasm winning him a quick place in Derek’s heart, and over the year he’d only seemed to climb deeper into Derek’s affections.

There was just something addictive about him, something so natural in a world where they were both inherently  _unnatural_. He seemed to have become the exceptions to all of Derek’s rules and even here, in this private place where minutes ago he’d been luxuriating in the solitude he was suddenly aware that he’d be more than happy to bring Stiles there, to let the young man blather on about anything and everything as they lay back in the grass, arms intertwined, watching the sun climb and fall in the sky. And that scared him as much as it warmed that empty place in his chest.

But he hadn’t even seen Stiles since he’d come to the house to warn them, and where at first he’d only been longing for his company, it had begun to morph into something much more akin to worry. Laura too had noticed the angel’s absence, especially after having stepped on a fork at the breakfast buffet the day before. She’d healed within 10 minutes but she hadn’t been happy about it, cursing Stiles as she hopped angrily across the hotel lobby.

Sighing up at the sky Derek wondered where Stiles was and when he’d see him again. And why he was keeping his distance?

Derek didn’t normally like to think too hard on that one though…

Half an hour later Derek was startled out of his daze by the shrill sound of his phone. Pulling it from his pocket he noted his mother’s name flashing across the screen and he quickly accepted the call.

‘Hello?’

‘Derek, I need you to listen to me and do as I say. Go back to the hotel right now, as fast as you can. Cora will be in your room, help her pack everything, then go to our room and do the same.’

‘Wait, wha-’

‘I know you have questions but I’m afraid I don’t have time to answer then right now so you just have to trust me. After you pack everything up hand the keys in at the front desk and ask for directions to the Ambrose Motel. It should only take you and Cora 20 minutes to get here and we’ll be in room 118.’

‘I don’t get it, what’s going on? What happened?’

He heard his mum sigh on the other end of the phone and then a scream, muffled but just about audible with his enhance hearing.

‘What was that?’

‘Please Derek, just do this for me. Look after your sister and don’t talk to anyone you haven’t seen before. Be as quick as you possibly can. I love you both very much.’

There was another distant scream followed by some shouting and the phone went dead. His heart was beating fast in his chest and he kept replaying what he’d heard in his head. The scream, it was oddly familiar, like he’d heard it somewhere before…

It hit him like a ton of bricks.  _Laura_.

His mum had told him to look after Cora, that she was waiting in the hotel for him, but she hadn’t mentioned Laura. And that scream, he realised with sick clarity that he’d heard it before, when Laura had got caught in an animal trap aged 12 and his dad had pried it off her ankle and again when she’d accidentally electrocuted herself on her science project at the Science Fair in 8th grade. That was what his sister sounded like in pain, in serious, physical pain. He swallowed down the rising terror, climbing to his feet and slipping on his shoes, not bothering with socks.

He was running before he knew it, as fast as his legs would carry him, desperate to get back to his room, to  _Cora_  and make sure that she at least was alright. Ask her what the hell was going on.

And as he powered on, wind whipping his face, leaves crunching underfoot one thought rose unbidden once more into the forefront of his mind, though the longing sweetness that had accompanied the thought before was long gone.

 _Where the_ hell _was Stiles_?

* * *

5 days he’d spent locked up in a cell he couldn’t even fully extend his wings in. 5 days of isolation with nothing but his own thoughts to entertain him. 5 days to work out that 5 days was way too long to spend alone in his own company. The whole place was dank and unclean, the bars sticky for some unknown reason and the bed somehow harder than the floor. The only respite was the guard who would visit every so often, a taciturn man with a massive frame and bulging arms but he was kind enough, bringing him food three times a day and water at regular intervals. He resisted Stiles’ attempts at conversation, and frowned whenever he queried about his trial or what was to come next, but with every passing day Stiles sensed the guard was beginning to get more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

Stiles guessed no one was telling him anything either.

And it seemed the lack of knowledge was getting to them both because on the 5th day when the guard came to deliver his lunch he finally broke his self-imposed silence.

‘Why are you in here?’

Stiles lifted his head from where it had been resting on the wall while he traced circles in the dirt crusted floor. He peered curiously at the man. He was frowning at the wall as if annoyed he’d given in to his curiosity. Stiles smiled tiredly.

‘You don’t know?’

Since being forcibly removed from his house Stiles had had no contact with the outside world, but he’d assumed everyone would know what was going on by now. What he’d done. He’d imagined his face slapped on the front page of the news, reported on every channel, stories of what he’d done spreading like wildfire until they morphed into something so alien from the truth that people were going round saying he’d been incarcerated for trying to kill the Hales and steal their centuries old buried treasure or something as equally wrong. But this was somehow stranger.

The man seemed torn between his curiosity and his work ethic and for the first time Stiles wondered if he’d been ordered not to speak to the prisoner and that was why he’d refused all of Stiles’ previous attempts at conversation. He’d always just assumed the man was disgusted with him, or deemed him unworthy of anything more than his mandatory food three times a day. He wondered why he’d decided to break the rules now.

‘No, they never told me. They just told me you were highly unstable and dangerous and that all contact with you should be as limited as possible. But I’ve been watching you, you don’t seem unstable and I can’t imagine you’re dangerous. You haven’t even been looking for a way out.’

Stiles snorted.

‘Who says I haven’t?’

‘Me. I deal with the Heaven’s biggest threats and I haven’t yet had a prisoner under my care that didn’t at least  _attempt_  to escape. Most of the time by trying to take me by surprise and overpower me.’

‘Have any succeeded?’

‘No.’

Stiles clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth thoughtfully.

‘Well then there really wouldn’t be any point in trying that then would there? And everything else in here is too tough to break out from so there really isn’t any realistic option for escape. I may not be unstable and dangerous, but I’m also not stupid.’

‘So what did you do then? This is a maximum security holding cell and you’ve got more warnings on your file than that angel that shot up the day care centre last year, and that guy was insane.’

Everyone knew that story, it had been devastating. 15 cherubs and one of the carers had died before the rogue angel had been apprehended and even then 3 of the arresting officers had sustained serious wounds bringing him down. The man was highly dangerous and unbelievably vicious and Stiles couldn’t believe that someone somewhere had deemed him a bigger threat.

‘I warned my charge and her family about a house fire they were going to die in. I wasn’t supposed to. They got out, went to a hotel somewhere and their house burnt down with no one in it. They survived and I got picked up by the police for disobeying the Fates and, well, here we are 5 days later.’

The guard frowned.

‘You were sent here because you went out of your way to  _not_  kill anyone?’

‘That’s one way to put it.’

Stiles shrugged, the irony having all but worn off after 5 days of thinking it over, but the guard was still staring at him obviously trying to decide if Stiles was telling the truth or not. He realised it did sound a little ridiculous, but  _he_  knew it was the truth and it didn’t really matter to Stiles if the guard believed him or not.

It wasn’t like it would change anything.

The silence stretched on and Stiles went back to scratching shapes into the floor, head pressed against the wall once more.

When he looked up 5 minutes later, the guard was gone.

* * *

Cora had been waiting when he reached the hotel, her stuff and half of Laura’s already packed away. There were faded tear tracks on her face and she let Derek sweep her up into a hug when he saw her, clinging to his shoulders with nails bordering on claws.

They’d packed the rest of Laura and Derek’s stuff in silence, but when they got started on their parents room Cora began talking like she could no longer hold it in, her voice carefully void of emotion. She told Derek how Laura and her had gone shopping but they’d been followed. Their stalkers had waited until they were alone before they began shooting at them. Laura had covered Cora with her body, taking the bullets herself, but the shooters had come after them for a reason – they knew what they were – and the bullets were laced with wolfsbane.

Somehow Cora had got them out of there and back to the hotel, but she couldn’t drag Laura half bleeding through the fancy lobby so their parents had ordered her to wait for Derek while they found some non-descript motel to treat Laura in where they wouldn’t be asked too many questions.

By the end of the story Cora’s hands was shaking against the zip of the suitcase and Derek’s breathing was heavy. Realistically he’d known something bad had happened, but he hadn’t let himself imagine it was something like that. He didn’t push her for details though, knowing she’d told him all she could, and they completed the rest of their task in silence, quickly checking out of the hotel and following directions to their new base.

It was as run down and derelict as Derek had expected. The half illuminated sign coming straight out of the movies, as did the chain-smoking, overweight man behind the front desk. He didn’t even look up when Derek asked where room 118 was, he simply hooked a thumb to the right and grunted.

His mum opened the door when they knocked, face creased with worry, but she smiled as she saw them ushering them into a small, dimly lit room that smelt strongly of mould. Laura was writhing on the bed, her shirt in tatters from a littering of bullet holes and Derek felt the anger rise in his chest again. Cora had a hand on his arm, her grip vice tight as she took in the scene, but though it was bordering on painful he was glad for the touch, helping to keep him grounded, to keep the rage in his chest at bay.

There was an unknown man stood by Laura’s bedside with their father, rifling through a bag and talking lowly to both of his parents. Derek couldn’t hear what he was saying, the roar of his blood in his ears leaving him deaf to the rest of the room, but his parents were nodding along and his dad was stroking a soothing hand through Laura’s hair as she screamed again, kicking at the covers bunched by her feet.

‘We need to burn it out.’

A flash of the conversation reached him and he frowned, watching as the man reached into his bag, drawing out 5 neat bullets. The scent of wolfsbane hit him and this time he couldn’t supress his growl.

His dad looked up at him, taking in his tense posture and Cora’s death grip on his arm with pitying understanding.

‘Maybe you two should wait outside. I don’t want you to see this, and I don’t think Laura would either.’

With brief hesitation his mum nodded too, and though Derek was ready to protest, Cora was already dragging him to the door desperate to get away. They hadn’t even shut the door behind them before there came the tell-tale hiss of a match being lit, followed by a shattering scream. Without a word Cora let go of his arm and took off running.

He chased her to a small room with 3 old vending machines and an ice machine. She was crouched next to the latter, small and vulnerable, and he slid down the wall next to her.

‘It’s my fault. It’s my fault she’s going to die.’

Derek looked at her, shaking his head vigorously but she spoke up again before he could even begin to placate her.

‘I went down to that corner shop our first night, you know, to grab some Coke and a magazine, but when I was coming back I saw this massive, fat, ginger cat stalking this little family of mice down an alley way. I felt bad for the mice, and the cat obviously wasn’t hunting for food so I followed it down and flashed my fangs at it. It ran away like I thought it would but when I turned around there was this guy at the mouth of the alley, just staring at me. I smiled at him as I left, I thought he’d be confused but convince himself he’d imagined it. Trick of the light, it was dark in the alley, something like that. But when we got attacked by the hunters today the same guy was part of the group. He knew what we were and he told everyone what he saw, he followed me and I led them straight to you and now Laura’s going to die because I felt the insane urge to save a stupid mouse family from a damn  _cat_.’

She buried her face in her knees, her shoulders shaking. Derek ran a large hand down Cora’s back in an attempt to sooth her choked sobs, forcing himself to stay calm, knowing that’s he’d be no use to anyone if he panicked too.

‘First of all, Laura is  _not_  going to die. Mum and Dad have it all under control and she’ll be back to her normal, annoying self by dinner. It’s going to take more than a few cowardly hunters to take down Laura Hale, you should know that. Secondly, this is not your fault. You didn’t know anyone was there, and you were just trying to help those in need, even if those in need were a family of mice being cornered by a greedy cat. You did what you thought was right, and that’s not something you should feel guilty about. You’ve always been an animal lover Cora, no one will blame you for trying to be a rodent hero.

‘And lastly, even if it was your fault – which it isn’t – there’s no way any of us could have known this would happen. We had no idea there were hunters in the area or else mum would have put us on alert. You did nothing wrong, do you understand that? This was out of your control completely.’

Cora sniffed and looked up, her brow furrowed.

‘Why didn’t Stiles warn us this was going to happen?’

Derek’s hand paused where it was stroking along her back, his mind centring back on the missing angel. The weird cocktail of betrayal, anger, longing and affection welled up inside of him unbidden.

‘I don’t know. I don’t know where he is, I don’t know why he isn’t answering his phone, I don’t know why he didn’t warn us about this, or the fork thing, or any of it. Maybe he’s abandoned us. Maybe he doesn’t care anymore.’

Cora peered at him curiously.

‘You don’t honestly believe that do you?’

He shrugged, he wasn’t really sure what he believed anymore. What was real. What he felt.

‘Derek, even I know Stiles wouldn’t just abandon us for no reason. He’s been with us for over a year now, he’s family, he loves us and he’s in love with _you_. He’s wouldn’t just leave if he didn’t have to If something wasn’t wrong.’

It made sense what she was saying - and he managed not to give into his urge to quiz Cora about what she knew about Stiles’ feelings for him - but it did nothing to make him feel better because where the betrayal had been only seconds before there was now a steady stream of worry settling in its place.

‘Then where is he?’

‘I don’t know Derek. Why don’t you call-’

‘I’ve  _tried_ calling but his phone’s always off.’

‘That’s not what I was going to say, I was going to suggest calling Lydia. She gave me her number when she came to visit. She’ll know where Stiles is.’

She pulled her phone from her pocket, scrolling through her contacts till she found Lydia’s number. Derek tried to take the phone from her but she shook her head, putting it on speaker instead.

‘I want to know what’s going on too.’

Lydia picked up on their second attempt, her voice whispered and echo-y like she was shut in a small space.

‘Cora?’

‘Yeah, it’s me. Well me and Derek actually.’

Derek grunted in greeting.

‘Shit. You guys shouldn’t be calling me. Are you alright?’

Derek went to speak, but Cora held up a finger.

‘We’re ok, but Laura’s not. She’s in,’ she swallowed noisily, ‘she’s in a pretty bad condition right now and we were wondering where Stiles is. He didn’t warn us this was going to happen. He hasn’t been around since the night of the fire, and he won’t answer any of Derek’s calls. What’s going on? Is everything ok up there?’

There was an ominous pause from the other end, and then the sound of someone shifting around. When Lydia spoke again it was even quieter than before.

‘I’m really sorry about Laura, honestly I am, but things are bad up here right now. I don’t know if I can even tell you what’s going on. _I’m_ not even supposed to know…’

Derek took the phone from Cora as Lydia groaned in frustration, her words petering out.

‘Lydia, is Stiles in trouble? Please, has something happened to him?’

He thought Lydia wasn’t going to answer. She was silent for so long that if he hadn’t been able to hear her breathing he’d have thought she’d hung up, but eventually she started speaking again.

‘He’s been arrested.’ She breathed the words into the phone as if worried someone was listening in.

‘Arrested? What do you mean? What did he do?’

Cora snatched the phone back from Derek, his grip loosened at the shock of the news.

‘He got taken in 5 days ago and we haven’t seen him since. They won’t even let his dad see him it’s insane. They kept saying he’s a criminal, that he’s dangerous, but they wouldn’t tell us what the exact charges were so we got our friend Danny to hack the computer system to see what he’d been charged with.’

‘And?’

Lydia huffed over the phone, displeased with being interrupted, before remembering where she was and lowering her voice again.

‘He’s been charged with disobeying a direct order from the Fates. I’ve never even heard of someone doing that, it’s like the _number one_ rule for every Guardian Angel, part of the key philosophy and all that. But Stiles broke his contract by disobeying them and now he’s in serious shit. We don’t even know where they’re keeping him.’ There was the sound of something metallic crashing to the ground and Lydia swore. ‘I shouldn’t even be telling you any of this.’

‘What was the order?’

‘What?’

Derek growled again his claws extending against his jeans as they always did when his emotions were running too high. Cora settled a calming hand over his.

‘The order, the one Stiles disobeyed. The one that got him arrested. What was it?’

Somehow Derek knew what Lydia was going to say before she even spoke the words. He’d had the feeling something was wrong the day of the fire, but he’d ignored it, pushed it to the back of his mind. He’d noticed that Stiles was more resigned, more focused than usual, like he was trying desperately to remember every second, and now, knowing what he knew Derek could feel his throat tightening around his disbelief. He remembered thanking Stiles that day, for saving him, for saving his entire family, but he hadn’t known at the time how much Stiles was giving up to do it. The price he was paying. He’d been too distracted by everything else to see the nervousness, the anxiety that looking back was plain to see. He’d been too focused on breathing Stiles in as he leant into him, revelling in the contact where he should have been focused on the boy instead of his stupid hormones. If he’d paid more attention maybe he could have prevented it, maybe he could have helped.

 _Maybe they could have saved Laura_.

‘Lydia, Lydia are you still there?’ Cora’s brow was creased as she watched Derek pale. She knew there was something she was missing, something important.

Miles above, shut in a janitorial closet on the 4th floor of the 2nd Academy building Lydia cleared her throat and squeezed her eyes closed.

‘He was supposed to let you burn with your house. All of you.

‘He just couldn’t do it.’


	4. Laura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is short but it's kind of a joiner chapter so I think the next one will be longer. I hope you like it anyway. Also, sorry it's so late, I'm useless and this is surprisingly difficult to write .

They walked back to the motel room in silence, Lydia’s words ringing in their ears. The screaming had stopped when they reached the door so Derek tentatively knocked, breathing out a sigh of relief when his dad opened it revealing Laura upright and pale but very much _awake_ on the bed. She gave them a tired smile as they shuffled into the room, hand coming up to reach for Cora as she rushed to her side. Derek stayed where he was. He felt like his legs might give in at any second.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there staring blankly at the wall but eventually he made out Laura’s voice calling to him over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears.

‘Derek? Der? You alright? You don’t look so good and that’s coming from a girl who just got Wolfsbane burnt out of her body by a _vet_ moonlighting as a werewolf doctor.’

The man who’d been talking to his mum in the corner scowled.

The colour was already coming back to Laura’s face and she used Cora’s shoulder to pull herself more upright, peering curiously across the room. His parents too were watching him closely, concerned in their own right by his behaviour, but his mouth wouldn’t open, his legs wouldn’t move and his mind wouldn’t stop spinning in circles. It was like his whole body was rebelling against him, pulling him apart and imploding all at the same time. He felt his claws unsheathe, biting into his palms and he focused on the pain letting it lead him back to the present and away from the swirling mess of his mind.

‘Derek sweetie, you need to tell us what’s happened.’

There was a warm hand on his, and his mum’s face swimming before his eyes. He swallowed against the lump in his throat, gripping tighter to the hand in his.

‘ _Stiles_.’

The word was ragged and choked off, but it hung in the air even as Cora inhaled shakily and too loudly on the other side of the room.

‘What about him? Did you talk to him? Is he ok?’

Cora spoke up before he could, her voice amazingly calm and collected where he could only just choke out words.

‘No. We called Lydia. I had her number and we wanted to get in contact with Stiles. Since he wasn’t picking up we figured she was our best chance. She told us Stiles is in trouble. That he hasn’t been around and he didn’t warn us this was going to happen because he couldn’t. The night of the fire they arrested him and his friends and family haven’t seen him since. Lydia kept saying how much trouble he was in, how insane it all is and I-’

She trailed off, swallowing the rest of her words. Next to her Laura threw an arm round her shoulder pulling her close as she looked towards Derek obviously expecting him to pick up the story.

‘Why has he been arrested?’

He inhaled deeply knowing if Cora could say it so could he.

‘Because of us. Because he warned us of the fire and he wasn’t supposed to. He was _supposed_ to leave us in there and we were _supposed_ to burn to death in the ruins of our own house. The _Fates_ ordered it and Stiles went against the order. He’s being punished for saving our lives.’

Out of the corner of his eye he saw his parents exchange harried looks but he kept his focus on Laura, her cheeks newly flushed and her eyes intense. Where minutes ago she’d been close to death, bleeding out poisoned blood too much and too fast, she was now unrecognisable. Derek couldn’t keep his eyes off her as if watching her process the information was somehow quieting the rabble of his mind. She seemed to exude strength and power and some new sort of awe inspiring rage.

Eventually she pushed herself to standing, gauze falling away from unblemished skin. She swept her hair away from her face hooking it behind her ears distractedly as she moved towards the door, pulling it open so hard the hinges groaned.

‘Cora, give me your phone.’

Without hesitation Cora tossed her phone at Laura’s retreating back, unsurprised when Laura seamlessly caught it without turning around. There was a brief pause as she fiddled with the buttons but then she was talking again, the same no-nonsense tone still in place.

‘Lydia? It’s Laura... Yes, thank you I’m fine now but I’m going to need a favour. I need you to find some way to get me up to you so I can have a little chat with these Fates of yours… I don’t care if it’s not allowed, neither is ordering my whole family dead and then arresting _my_ Angel for saving our fucking lives so it looks like we’re all throwing out the rules today doesn’t it… I’m not just going to sit back and let them do this to us, to _Stiles,_ so you can either help me or you can direct me to someone who will because I don’t know how I’m going to do it but I _am_ going to get up there and when I do I’m going to demonstrate to your _Fates_ just what happens when you mess with a werewolf who has now almost died twice and is pretty fucking pissed… Thank you. I’m glad you see it my way… Yes, I can do that… Thank you Lydia, I’ll see you soon.’

She hung up the phone tossing it back to Cora.

‘Laura, I’m not sure you should be doing this. You’re still healing and from what we’ve heard this all sounds like it could be dangerous.’

‘So what you’re saying is that we should leave Stiles rotting in _prison_ because some jacked up egomaniacs think that they know everything and Stiles had the decency and common sense to _not_ blindly follow everything they say? He’s done so much for me, for _us,_ I have to at least try to help him. He risked his future to save our lives, this seems like the least I could do and I’m sorry and I love you, but I really don’t think you can change my mind on this.’

No one spoke. No one knew what to say. They all just stood together in the doorway of their motel room letting the silence wash over them. Derek could feel the dizzying spinning in his head slow down, content that someone else was taking charge, that the burden had been shared, that Laura seemed to know what she was doing. The empty space in his chest still ached though and he could still feel the worry sunk deep in his bones throbbing relentlessly.

10 minutes into their silence Cora finally piped up.

‘Hey what’s with that?’

She was pointing to their left where an elderly couple seemed to be walking towards the street except they appeared to have stopped mid step and were frozen, one foot in the air, mouths open in unfinished conversation.

‘Over there too.’

Derek followed his dad’s finger to where a middle aged man and a far younger woman were entwined, motionless, on the road next to the half lit motel sign.

‘They’ve all just… stopped. What’s going-’

Before the words could fully leave Cora’s mouth there was a roaring sound above them. Glancing up Derek could see what looked to be a large metal object hurtling towards them, glinting in the sunlight. Thankfully it slowed before it reached them, hovering briefly before touching down on the browned out grass in front of their room.

Laura stepped out to meet Lydia halfway, helping her out from the shuttle. There were rings under her eyes and though her hair wasn’t by any means a mess it still looked _off_ somehow, like it hadn’t been receiving its normal level of care. She waved tiredly to the gathered Hales before turning to Laura.

‘We have to go now, they’re going to realise pretty soon that a shuttle’s been signed out improperly and they’ll come looking for it. If you really want to come up with me, we have to get moving.’

Laura nodded, her face solemn even as her eyes burned with the fire that had consumed their house. She climbed up into one of the passenger seats, leaning out the window as her mum called out to her, face twisted in concern.

‘Laura, honey, what exactly is your _plan_ here?’

For a second Laura hesitated, fingers stilling on her seatbelt before she shrugged, smiling crookedly down at her family as she shouted to be heard over the whirring of the engine preparing to take off.

‘To be honest, past this point I’m not really sure. I figure I’ll just make it up as I go though. That usually works, right?’

In the doorway Derek hung his head and groaned. Giving into the instinct that had been itching at the nape of his neck and the ache pulsing in his chest he clapped his dad on the back and pushed past Cora, breaking into a sprint as the engine got louder and the shuttle began to rise. There was a horrible moment where he thought he wasn’t going to make it, Lydia too focused on what she was doing to see him coming, but then he was flying through the air, arms outstretched and latching onto the shuttle handle. Below him Cora whooped even as his parents shouted at him to be careful.

He slid himself into the shuttle a little breathlessly, ignoring Lydia’s raised voice and angry swearing from the driver’s seat.

‘What are you _doing_ Derek?’

He blinked up at Laura’s incredulous face and grinned.

‘Same as you, idiot. I’m saving Stiles.’


	5. The Fates

As far as anyone knew, the Fates had always existed.

They were the first words written and it was thought that when the world fades away, when everything ends as everything must, they would be the ones to end the chapter much as they had begun it.

Though that is not to say the members stayed static. Much like religious orders in the human world, the Fates were chosen and pledged their serving lives to their duties and when one grew too old, another was inducted, chosen by the power. Kissed by the ritual light.

From there they lived their days alone but for each other, reading the words only they could see and serving a power only they could hear.

Their Fated Chambers stood at the highest point of Heaven, the large arching windows giving views across the clouds for miles around. For thousands of years they had been a place of dignity, of respect and meditation, the closest point of contact to a power that yet evaded all other senses.

Now the chambers stood desecrated.

White walls stood masked in red, deathly patterns spilling out across the grand council table. All around the central room the bodies of the Fates lay lifeless, eyes closed and wings limp. The living chambers were much the same, blood -too much blood - covering everything like someone had enjoyed its spilling.

Someone had.

A figure moved from where they had been standing smiling down at the cities below as though unaware of the carnage surrounding them. The man turned slowly as the door behind him opened and a woman far younger than he was stepped into the room. Her nose wrinkled slightly as the smell of the bodies hit her and she grimaced at the man.

‘Can’t you do something more about the smell, it’s terrible.’

She nudged at one of the bodies with her foot, watching as it swayed against the pressure, pools of blood splintering after so much time static. She wondered at the clean-up, after all the bodies had been there for a while, she doubted all the dried blood would come out completely, and even if it did the smell seemed to have ingrained itself into the room.

‘Relax Kate, the smell is nothing compared to the actual stench of 30 rotting bodies, you are just lucky I was able to block most of the odour or else you’d really have something to complain about.’

Kate frowned but stayed quiet, conceding the point with her silence. She waited for the man to continue.

‘And how is everything coming along with our little _inconvenience_?’

He’d turned back to the window, the fading light of day casting her view of him into darkness and she shook away the surge of fear she felt. He was getting stronger, she could feel it, but then again so was she.

‘The boy’s trial has been pushed up to tomorrow and I gave a direct order to his guard not to speak to him or let anyone else speak to him just in case he does happen to know anything. I don’t think he does though, as far as I can tell it was just reckless rule breaking on his part – he didn’t actually know that the order to kill the Hale’s had come down from us rather than the Fates so I think we’re safe there. It is a pity he warned them though, I would have loved to see those animals go up in smoke.’

She laughed as she picked at a fingernail, eyes unfocused as she built the scene before her.

‘Good, his death will be a relief, the little idiot lost us our revenge and now I’ve lost track of the Hales. But I _will_ find them and I _will_ carry out our revenge and they _will_ be sorry they ever stood in our way. But be that tomorrow, or be it in 10 years, they will not stop me this time, and I will have the power I deserve. I will have the recognition and devotion I deserve.’ He touched a finger to the glass. ‘The girl is ready?’

‘Yes.’

‘And you’re sure she will be able to accept the gift?’

‘Yes, she’s young and innocent, she has not been corrupted and will be easily moulded.’

‘Good.’

‘I worry about Chris though, I think he’s growing suspicious.’

The man snorted.

‘Pay no heed to your brother, there is a reason he is where he is and you and I are where we are. Because we understand what we are, what were are capable of, what we can achieve if given the chance. He is a follower, he lets his compassion blind him to ambition. Even if he begins to suspect something is wrong I doubt he will ever be able to stop us because he would struggle to understand our actions in the first place. He may be my son, that I cannot change, but in matters such as these he is inconsequential.’

Far across the city a bell chimed.

‘You should be going Kate, we don’t want to arouse suspicion when everything is so close.’

He turned from the window and strode towards Kate, eyes alight with devilish ambition. He clasped her shoulder with one hand as his face split into a smile.

‘Tomorrow. Tomorrow it all begins.’

She smiled back.

‘Tomorrow everything changes.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, gratuitous super villain speeches from Gerard there - amazingly fun to write. Hope you enjoyed it and tell me if you have any questions or anything, I was trying to make it mysterious and of course some of it will be answered in later chapters, but if it's just straight up confusing let me know.
> 
> So sorry this took so long to get updated (and is so short- it's kind of a necessary filler chapter), my writers block has been killing me, but it's sort of gone now so there will be more much sooner I promise!


	6. Heaven

As they came in to land in a fairly secluded juncture between two high rise buildings they held their breath, staring through the clouds, half certain there’d be a barrage of officers waiting for them when they touched down. There wasn’t. The ground was clear and as Lydia switched off the shuttle it almost seemed as if they’d made it free and clear. Laura’s head snapped round.

‘Wait, someone’s coming.’

Derek looked towards where Laura was pointing. He had to squint to see through the dirty window but she was right, there was definitely someone out there staring at them. Lydia swore viciously, hands flitting over the console like there was something it could do for her but unless they were going to take off again there really weren’t many options. Slowly the figure started advancing on them, purposeful and undeniably menacing. Derek wondered who would win in a fight between a werewolf and an angel, the exact sort of question Stiles used to pose while raiding their fridge. Derek clenched his fists by his side, ready to find out the answer once and for all. Next to him Laura was pulling off her seatbelt, half shifted already. He wasn’t fighting alone then.

The figure was still concealed in the shadows but they’d moved closer, right up to the edge of being visible with only a pair of ratty boots sticking out into the light. Derek nervously wondered why whoever it was was so keen on remaining faceless, wondered what it meant for them. His whole body was on the edge of shaking, the realisation finally hitting that they were neck deep in enemy territory and that there was a chance they wouldn’t make it out.

Ahead of him the taut line of Lydia suddenly let out a long, startling exhale, sinking gracelessly into the steering column as if the adrenaline had seeped right out of her. Concerned Laura reached out for her but Lydia was determinately shuffling out of the shuttle, arm getting snagged in her seatbelt in her haste. Confused and still keyed up, Derek let Laura half push him out of his seat as they leapt to follow.

Lydia was peering at the shape as they came to stand next to her, but she was smiling bemusedly. Weirdly, Derek noticed, the shape was beckoning them, frantic fingers working in their direction.

‘Scott, what are you doing here?’

The figure froze then began a hurried and hissed reply, putting on a voice an octave too low.

‘Don’t address me by name Lydia there are cameras. I’m being stealth.’

Lydia let her head fall back for a second, gazing longingly at the sky as if she wanted to just fly away.

‘For Fates sake Scott, that’s why you half scared the crap out of me? The cameras here don’t work. Danny hacked them when he wanted to find somewhere to make out with Ethan without his dad finding out and getting mad. You think I’d drive this thing into the middle of a policed area with a couple of illegals on board? I’m both insulted and ashamed.’

The figure – Scott – began muttering under his breath about being better safe than sorry, but he stepped out of the shadows into the light nonetheless, squinting in the brightness. Instantly Derek recognised him from the pictures Stiles had showed him of his ‘best bro’, the crooked jaw and floppy hair exactly as they were on film. He was even smiling the same sort of dopey smile he always seemed to have.

‘How did you know it was me?’

Lydia scoffed.

‘The shoes. Disgusting. My turn, how did you know what I was doing?’

‘The Sheriff. One of the other senior GAs heard you on the phone talking about arranging your meeting and luckily took it to him instead of the Fate authorities. He’s a well liked guy and I think people are pretty confused as to why Stiles was taken in. Anyway he told the guy that he’d take care of it and swore him to secrecy. He’s still on shift but he managed to contact me and let me know where you were coming in. Tracked you through the shuttle’s GPS and everything so I could come get you. It’s so spy movie it’s crazy.’

‘Stop looking so happy about it moron, this is literally phase one of a multi phased plan and we came very close to fucking that up as it is. There is a maybe 10% chance that we’ll even pull this off, and if we don’t we are all in for some nasty consequences. So wipe the smile off of your stupidly handsome face and help me sneak these two somewhere safe.’

She gestured back to where Derek and Laura were standing, awkward and uncomfortable and still kind of confused. Scott followed the gesture, his smile even dopier after Lydia had aggressively called him handsome. Laura stiltedly lifted a hand in greeting and Scott stepped forward, seizing it from mid-air to give it a hearty shake, her whole body juddering slightly with the force, before turning to do the same to Derek. He felt a little shell shocked in the face of such genuine happiness – he’d always thought Stiles had over exaggerated the allure of Scott McCall - but apparently that was not the case.

‘It’s so nice to finally meet both of you, I’ve heard a lot as you can imagine. Never really stops talking does he? Especially when we were little his mouth used to just run off on this odd little tangents and when he finished even he looked confused as to how he’d got there. Course he’s more focused with his tangents now, but still if he’s comfortable around someone there is no way he’s shutting up without adequate persuasion.’ His face darkened, ‘It’s been too quiet the last few days.’

Abruptly turning to Lydia he struck a pose which Derek assumed was meant to make him look powerful and in charge, but mostly made himmlook like a puppy trying to imitate a wolf.

‘Right Lydia, initiate Phase 2.’

* * *

 

They managed to sneak through the back alleys, ducking out of sight whenever they heard talking or the rustle of wings. Derek felt like he was seconds away from choking on his own heart every time Laura or Lydia pushed him back against a wall or down behind a bollard, but his hands had basically stopped shaking by the time Scott stopped and began digging around in his pocket, pulling out a key.

The house was fairly simple and standard, and it struck Derek how similar this Heaven world was to life on the ground. He’d always assumed it would be some sort of fantasy world full of domed ceilings and spires that lanced through the sky. But no, despite the angels floating around the streets, it was almost as if he wasn’t thousands of feet in the air, in an improbable pocket of sunlight and clouds, where the guy he loved was being held captive and where he was most certainly not welcome. Almost.

 A picture on the wall caught his eye as he drifted further into the room, a man and a woman standing together watching as a boy, probably about 8 or 9 years old, stared up at a ball he’d obviously just tossed into the air. The picture had managed to catch the exact moment the boy had realised the ball was going to hit him in the face and the look of shocked anguish was not only brilliant but overwhelmingly familiar to Derek. He’d seen it before when Cora had finally managed to lure someone into one of her weird, TV inspired traps in the garden. Stiles had fallen into the leaf covered hole with the same amount of grace and flare as he brought to every other situation in his life – which was not to say much – and his high pitched, piercing scream had brought every werewolf in the vicinity running. Derek would have normally called his mother a calm and composed woman, but that day he had watched as she’d dissolved into helpless giggles, having to drag herself inside before suffocated herself on Stiles’ humiliation.

‘The Sheriff should be back any moment. Do you want anything to drink while we wait?’

Scott quirked an eyebrow at them from where he was leaning on the doorframe to the kitchen, nodding politely when Laura asked for water and Lydia enquired after a root beer. Derek declined a drink, instead following the line of pictures round the room curiously, tracking the progress of Stiles’ life, ignoring the heavy pounding of his heart.

‘Aw, he was so cute as a kid.’

He hadn’t noticed Laura come up behind him but managed to turn his flinch into a shrug.

‘Still is.’ He grunted, scowling as she laughed, slapped a hand down on his shoulder hard and muttered something fondly about him being an idiot. He held his tongue though, knowing she was right.

‘You know we’re going to get him right? We’ve come this far and I don’t know about you but I’m not leaving here without him.’ Then she huffed out a brief laugh, ‘Plus I’ll be damned if I don’t get to finally watch the two of you stumble through whatever weird and awkward love confessions you’ve got bottled up, because seriously, I’ve been waiting for you two to suck it up for ages now and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be hilarious. Peter said he’d pay me twenty bucks if I can get it on film.’

Derek’s scowl only deepened but he bumped his side against hers and hoped she knew he appreciated the sentiment. He knew she was right, they were going to get him out one way or another. And he was going to finally bite the bullet and tell Stiles how he felt. He only hoped it was more beautiful, touching and reciprocated, rather than hilarious, but he’d take what he could get as long as they all ended up alive.

The sound of the latch put them all back on alert and Lydia came skidding in from the kitchen, wary eyes watching the door. An older man with greying hair and weary eyes stepped into the room, glancing over at each of them before turning to close the door behind him. He shut his eyes briefly, inhaling and exhaling slowly before reopening them and fixing his strangely sharp gaze on Lydia.

‘Miss Martin, I’ve just got off of a 9 hour shift, my feet hurt, my head hurt and frankly my hearts not doing any better under the circumstances, so would you care to tell me just what’s going on here and why there are two illegals currently camped out in my living room?’

Lydia’s mouth opened but no sound came out. Scott having heard the Sheriff arrive stumbled back into the room but didn’t add much to the conversation, promptly cowering back under the Sheriff’s steady stare. It was Derek who finally stepped forward, strangely aware that this was Stiles’ father.

‘Sir, we’re here for Stiles. We’re here to rescue him.’

He wasn’t quite ready for the stare to be turned on him but he felt he did a better job that Scott, standing his ground instead of flinching back. Seconds dragged on as the man considered him, face unreadable and heartbeat steady. Unconsciously, Derek raised his chin, meeting the Sheriff’s gaze with all the confidence he could muster and then suddenly the man deflated, almost as if someone had stuck a pin in him and let all the air out. He sank down onto the sofa, running a hand across his face as he sighed loudly.

‘Yes, I imagined that was the case.’ He looked up from his palms, forehead furrowed and eyes beseeching. ‘Please tell me you have a better plan than this.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry this is what? 9 months late? I have no excuse except I was busy and then I forgot and then I lost motivation and it spiralled. You can thank this new chapter on the new season of Teen Wolf which I am not watching because it has basically killed (in some cases literally) everything I loved about the show. So yeah, I'm back to creating my own realities and I hope you'll forgive me enough to join me. And I hope you liked this chapter.


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